


A - Z Walking Dead

by ASpecialKindofLove



Series: A-Z Walking Dead [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-05 00:32:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12179502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASpecialKindofLove/pseuds/ASpecialKindofLove
Summary: Just some fluffy one-shots of different Walking Dead characters inspired by the A-Z challenge x





	1. A is for Addiction

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfic in a long while, so if there's anything wrong (grammar, spelling, just a god-awful story in general, etc) let me know in the comments below!  
> Also, if you have any requests for characters let me know down below too! ((Even if they're one-shots that won't fit into the A-Z category I'll post them separate))  
> One of the places that I found out about the challenge is from here: https://simons-thirst-squad.tumblr.com/
> 
> All criticism is welcome, and I hope you enjoy. x

Having an addiction to something in this post-apocalyptic world was bad enough; having and addiction to someone was even worse. Everyone knew that. However, for Simon and Y/N, it seemed to go over their heads. They knew that being close to another person would end in suffering, would make them vulnerable. A target. An easy target. That’s why everyone had some sort of control over their vices and feelings. All except those two.  
Although, neither of them knew the other felt this way (as it goes in every romance why are you even surprised by this), they would still give in to their selfish addiction for one another by chatting away any chance they got or randomly bumping into one another. They knew what they were doing was awful and probably unfair but the more they did it and saw the other didn’t seem to mind, their guilt slowly ebbed away until it became almost second nature to chat away or eat at the same table or to help eachother unload the vans. They were helping eachother out. That was all. While fulfilling their guilty pleasure in basking in one another’s presence.  
~~~  
Y/N knew it was awful but she couldn’t help it. She was addicted. It would’ve been better if she was addicted to the routine of seeing him and the feeling of things being somewhat normal once but no. It had to be to him. He’d been gone for about three days now and he was usually back by this time. Y/N bit her nails subconsciously as she awaited his return so her careful, well-thought, 99%-probability-of-failure plan could be put into action. Why wasn’t he back? Had he been killed? By whom? She would be a wee bit lost without that arrogant grin that always seemed to shine down upon her when she least expected it to?  
Y/N didn’t want to think about this any longer.  
She would ask him when he got back. He was fine. Look at how ripped he was! Those muscles would just go to waste if he was dead! Those huge, toned arms wouldn’t move boxes and crates off the trucks with her anymore and those toned legs wouldn’t run laps in the training room, and those abs wouldn’t stretch reaching for boxes on the highest shelf…  
Y/N stopped her train of thought and cursed at her evil, cruel mind. She needed to get her head out of the gutter (you heard me). Jumping up off of her small bed, Y/N decided that maybe, if she walked around the Sanctuary long enough, Simon would return and she could speak with him about her important matter that she was so urgently ready to get off her chest.  
~~~  
Simon was feeling agitated. He was about thirty minutes from home and dying to speak with Y/N, whom he had not seen in days. He was praying she wasn’t in bed because it was quite late. There had been trouble with another of the smaller colonies that Simon was tasked to check on his way back, which he begrudgingly obliged to. He’d not been able to shake the thought of seeing Y/N today. It had taken him some time to pluck up his courage, which was quite unusual for him. However, he wanted to make it somewhat special and had mulled it over the last few days while away. In these few days he’d realised a couple of things;  
1) He couldn’t stop thinking about Y/N, her smile and laugh and her small quips and most importantly, beautiful everything.  
2) What she would do if she were with him on a run; would she stay close to him? Or would that be too distracting? Would she keep her distance? He hoped she wouldn’t have wanted to.  
3) That, if he were to say anything to her about his feelings, he’d need it to seem meaningful and genuine.  
Much to this world’s unfortunate circumstances, there wasn’t much he could do for her, or with her, without everyone knowing as well as not having the supplies. Something simple, he’d decided on the second day. Something simple that would win her over in a heartbeat.  
Although worried of his potential failure, Simon tried not to let it phase him and chose to channel his arrogance and confidence to give Y/N the best date of her life!  
~~~  
Y/N was in near Simon’s room when she heard that the trucks were pulling up. She’d heard it off another Saviour who’d zoomed passed her, surprisingly eager to help. She’d wandered mindlessly and ended up here (of all places), a place she’d only seen a few times in her time here when she’d delivered a few messages from other Saviours when they were too scared. She wondered what his room looked like. Minimalistic? Maybe a little décor? Who knew.  
She made her way towards the trucks nervously, deciding whether or not to go through with her well-thought-out plan of action. Her legs marched her forward following other saviours that were still awake to help with unloading. If she backed out now it wouldn’t be too bad. Simon wouldn’t know anything. All of her ‘umming’ and ‘erring’ had led her to make the B-line route she knew too well to Simon’s truck and almost straight into Simon whom was climbing out of it.  
“Jesus!” He exclaimed, causing Y/N to jumped back in surprise and then blush suddenly at the realisation of who it was she had spooked.  
“God, I’m sorry Si.” Y/N said rubbing her hands nervously. Did she say it?  
“Oh… Hey, sweetness.” He grinned at her, but something seemed amiss.  
“You-uh… You okay? I didn’t spook you too much did I?” Y/N joked hopelessly. A wave of fear struck her. “Oh God I probably look like an absolute mess! No wonder you were so scared!”  
In a feeble attempt to tidy her hair, Y/N missed Simon’s small smile. She was always so adorable. He had to say it.  
“Ya look fine, as always Y/N.”  
Blushing and flustered, Y/N quickly squeaked a “Thanks, Si.”  
Should she ask? She had too. She had too. Taking a deep breath she –  
“Hey can I – uh” They both said in unison. They stopped short and Y/N gave Simon the chance to go first with an indication of her shaky hand.  
With a shrug Simon began, “ Look, I know that this place ain’t the greatest for romantics and what not.” He paused, unsure. Then continued with a mock arrogance that he hoped made him sound like himself, “But, well, how’s about it if I take you out for some gel-at-oh tomorrow huh?” He grinned. He hoped it worked.  
It did.  
Y/N’s chest swelled heavily. “Ye-yeah. Sure thing.”  
“Ok… Nice. See you tomorrow then? I’ll come get you.” Simon winked and felt a wave of pride rush over him. He’d done it. He managed to ask her on a date. Simon turned to walk away and join the other saviours.  
“Hey, Si?” Y/N called after him.  
“Yes?” He called back, unable to contain the joy in his voice.  
She smiled. “I was gonna ask you the same thing.”


	2. B is for Bugs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/N has a very big fear of spiders. Unbeknownst to Arat, so does she. So, while bringing Y/N a break-time snack they encounter one of the beasties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild swearing! 
> 
> Enjoy! x

Y/N had always hated bugs. Creepy crawlies were an excellent name for the disgusting creatures known as insects, in Y/N’s opinion of course. They were exactly that – creatures that existed to kill other crawlers and. In some cases, beloved animals and stupid people. Tiny black eyes, miniscule hairs, pincers, fangs and more than four legs. These God-awful things were monstrous, _especially_ when they came in their thousands. 

 

It’s safe to say Y/N had her top three most hates mini-monsters; centipedes and millipedes, followed by mosquitoes, and at the very top, spiders. Camel spiders, house spiders, just spiders. They were the absolute worst. The epitome of all things creepy and crawly. Scuttling, sometimes-poisonous, dangerous, bird-eating, flesh-eating, blood-draining, eight-legged, four-to-eight-eyed monsters! From daddy-long-legs to tarantulas; Y/N would panic at the mere sight of one. She was famous in the Sanctuary for her fear; mainly because she had almost successfully ploughed Negan, head of the Saviours, off of his feet at unholy speeds as she ran for her life from a spider that had innocently scuttled its way passed her feet. She had been found to be quite adorable in her fear; gripping onto Dwight’s arm with a vice like grip as he bravely removed a small spider from the kitchen. Others she had been unbearably stupid; like when she had smacked Simon in the face with an old, rolled up issue of Vogue when a mosquito was attacking her mercilessly. 

The only person who had an issue with Y/N’s fear was Arat. She hated the way Y/N quaked and cowered. Honestly, how could someone be afraid of _bugs_? Walkers and people made a lot more sense, she thought. 

However, on this warm summer’s day Arat was going to change her mind.

 

Tasked with cleaning out an old store room, that Y/N was sure had spiders no matter how much Negan denied it, Y/N set out to pull out boxes and sort through them for any goods. She was doing well, timidly placing her hands on the boxes, gently peeling them back so that if any spiders were to appear; she’d be the first out the door.   
Halfway through her task, Simon came in to check on her.  
“It’s a bit unfair you gotta do this all by yourself, Y/N.” He’d told her.  
“Well, it beats cleaning rooms and doing laundry I guess.” She shrugged.   
Simon pointed at the floor behind and non-chalantly said, “Hey what’s that?”  
Y/N felt her soul leave her body in that instant. She slowly turned on her heel and looked to the floor.  
Although, it was just a few strands of cotton that had bound themselves together into a small, wiry ball, to Y/N it looked like a spider and therefore was until proven innocent. Her scream instantly made Simon regret his little joke and he had to calm her down quickly before someone got the wrong idea.  
“I felt my blood run cold you prick.” She hissed, teary-eyed from her horrid experience. Simon just laughed.  
“I didn’t expect you to react so badly.” He admitted and shrugged helplessly. “Besides, it was kinda funny. Anyways, I got work to do. Ciao milady.”   
And with that, Simon left. Leaving Y/N to open boxes even more timidly.

When Y/N had finally reached the last box, she breathed a sigh of relief. No spiders had appeared before her quite yet. She was on a winning streak. A knock on the door stopped her from opening the final box. Arat walked in without waiting for an answer, holding two small cardboard tubs of gelato.  
“Negan an’ Simon said you’d been here all day,” She said with a shrug. “They thought you might need this.” She handed Y/N a tub, and leaned back onto the wall and started to tuck into hers.  
Y/N, looked at her gelato surprised. She’s always assumed Arat had some deep-seeded dislike for her, but this gesture seemed quite, well, _nice_. She looked up and grinned.  
“Thank you, Arat. You didn’t have to bring it up to me – Simon could’ve, after scaring me like that.” Y/N frowned at the memory, and took a spoonful of gelato. The sweetness and coldness melted onto her tongue and with a sigh of bliss she took another bite.  
“Yeah, I heard that earlier. That’s why I’m here actually. By way of apology from Si.” Arat looked at her gelato and said no more.   
Y/N stood awkwardly as they ate in silence.   
“Would you like to help me with the last box, Arat?” Y/N asked suddenly.  
“..Not especially?” Arat replied, somewhat confused. She wasn’t about to become besties with this coward.  
“I-uh.. Okay, then. It’s just that I was on a winning streak and there’s been some cool stuff in here and I don’t know, thought you might be interested or something. Silly me as always, don’t worry ‘bout it.” Y/N babbled uncontrollably and took a deep breath when she’d finished. The look on Arat’s face was one of shocked and confusion.  
All of a sudden, Y/N became very tense, wide-eyed and still.   
“What’s wrong with you?” Arat asked leaning a little more towards her. There was no movement in Y/N’s eyes or her whole body. She looked like a deer in headlights.   
_**Why the fuck is she looking at me like that?**_ Arat growled in her head.   
“Hey, Y/N, answer me,” She hissed, getting angry. She moved closer when she didn’t get a reply. “HEY!”  
“B-B-B-…”   
“What?!”   
Using a shaky hand, Y/N pointed behind Arat. “Behind you.” She whispered. A  
Arat whipped her head around, ready to squish some bug that Y/N had seen. Only, this was no ordinary bug. It was a Goddamn monster. Arat, suddenly overcome with what she could only describe as a smart withdrawal, pummelled backwards into Y/N.   
“ **What** is that?” Arat said in a tone higher than usual.  
“A beast!” Y/N squealed, also making a hasty retreat. Quickly jumping to their feet, both women ran to the farthest corner of the room, away from the spider minding its own business on the wall.   
“It was so close to me!” Arat squeaked, trying to stop her heart from bursting out of her chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”   
Y/N clutched onto Arat out of instinct, and Arat did the same (she would later go on to say it was just a natural reaction, however, everyone knew this was very much a big fat lie).   
“I panicked okay?!” Y/N snapped. “It’s blocking the door, how are we gonna get out?”   
“We can just go passed it, we’re just being stupid.” Arat said, slowly regaining some common sense.  
“What if it jumps at me? And crawls down my top…Or my throat. Oh my God.” Y/N started getting more worried and teary-eyed. Arat grabbed her face and looked into her big, wide y/e/c eyes. _Hot damn_ , was one of Arat’s first thoughts. It was as if a curtain had been drawn back and the could suddenly see the light. _No wonder everyone finds her to be so darn cute with those doey-eyes, and stupid quiver in her bottom lip…_ Arat shook her head. Such intrusive thoughts.  
“ _Stop worrying._ ” She hissed at Y/N, looking away, trying to hide the blush that crept on her face. “It will be _fine_.”  
A wave of relief came over Y/N as she looked back at Arat, and suddenly noticed things she’d not seen before. The wisps of hair that wouldn’t stay back, the way her mouth slightly curved into a solemn straight line, and the barely-there freckles that covered her nose and highs of her cheeks.   
_Has she always looked like this?_ Y/N wondered helplessly. _She looks so…So…_ Without thinking she leaned forward, too close. Much too close.  
Arat, frowning slightly as Y/N came closer to her, was determined to get out of the room and never speak of what just happened again. But before she could even think about getting to her feet, the door flew open, revealing Negan and Lucille along with Simon; effectively squashing that poor innocent spider. Arat felt something soft and warm hit her cheek at the same instant and from the shocked faces of Simon and Negan, Arat’s face burnt crimson.   
Y/N quickly pulled away and flushed a light pink too. She hadn’t known what had come over her.  
“Are we interrupting something?” Negan asked, cocking an eyebrow.  
“There was a spider-“ Arat began.  
“Yeah, Yeah sure.” Negan said dismissively. “Come on Simon, let’s leave these two _lovebirds_ to their devices.” Negan turned on his heel and left, with Simon winking at the two women before following.  
“I-I’m sorry. I do-“ Y/N began.  
“Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Arat sighed. “Just.. Don’t talk about it to anyone else about it okay?”  
“About the k-kiss?”   
“No about the damn spider, moron.” Arat huffed, and got to her feet. She offered Y/N a hand, who gratefully took it, and helped to her feet. Arat was frowning now.   
“Is something wrong? I’m so sorry about-“  
“Stop it. Stop apologizing.” Arat snapped. Y/N nodded. “Look, I don’t how how to say this but… I-uh, I want everyone to know that you kissed me.”  
“Okay…?” Y/N wondered if this was a power thing. Own it rather than be ashamed. However, this was dismissed when Arat pressed her lips to Y/N’s.   
When she pulled away, she was bright red and said, “And I want people to know that we kiss eachother, okay?”  
“Oh-Okay..” Y/N nodded her head, feeling light-headed.   
“Kay, well, good then.” Arat frowned and looked at her hands, unsure of what to do next. “Um.. What do we do now?”  
“Well,” Y/N began. “ That was a stressful half hour, so I say we get gelato.” Y/N smiled at Arat and Arat smiled back.  
Man, it’s a good thing they both hate bugs.


	3. C is for Cursing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/N is usually pretty sweet, until someone makes her curse. Unfortunately for her, being offered up to Negan to be a new wife of his, is exactly the kind of thing that's angry enough to make her curse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finally had time to write again! Huzzah!   
> C was originally going to be for Colour (with Negan) and then I decided maybe Eugene (just so I could use a pun I made up - but that will come up later hopefully).   
> These next two chapters are dedicated to my wonderful friend Alisha, who proofreads all of these to make sure they're good enough to be put on here - so I will be ever in her favour.
> 
> Be warned, there's a lot more cursing in this one.  
> Y/b/t = your body type i.e pear, hourglass  
> y/e/c = your eye colour  
> y/h/c = your hair colour
> 
> Enjoy! x

“I am so _done_ with this _shit_!” Y/N exclaimed, kicking a nearby rock and sending it skipping off into the bushes. Y/N never _really_ swore, it was always some old-fashioned curses like ‘cods-wallop’ or ‘sugar’ or ‘bull-honky’. Whenever she swore properly, as it were, everyone around her _knew_ it wasn’t good.   
“ _You_ ,” she hissed, pointing at her white-faced, so-called allies angrily. If they don’t know what fear felt like before, they were feeling it now. “You’re an absolute disgrace to all human kind and you’re beneath pond scum – you’re lower than fucking _algae_ on the food chain. You’re absolute t-tossers!”  
With her face red from anger, her throat tight and her fists clenched so hard they were white, she stormed off to her residence in the place she used to call home. 

Boiling with rage, Y/N grabbed a duffel bag from her former closet and threw it on her former bed. She began picking what little items she had and stuffing them vigorously into the bag, not caring about creases or mud. How could they do this to her? After everything she’d done? For them, her people? Maybe it was better she would be leaving, even if it wasn’t her choice.  
These thoughts pounded her brain like a chant, and it fuelled her already foul mood into something much worse. She was so angry her body was radiating with heat. She was shaking with frustration and heaving quick, hot breaths. In the old life she’d let people push her around, and this time, in this new life she had strove to be a lot more strong-willed and stubborn. However, despite her trying, she was still a bit of a push-over which was why she had landed herself in her current situation. She had been too nice, too kind – and that was how she had gotten to be volunteered to be Negan’s wife without her knowing. Two weeks had gone by since her former friends had offered her to Negan. Two weeks and she had only found out now - _now. **Now.**_  
Today was the day Negan came to collect his prize and Y/N was fuming. She stopped punching her belongings into the small bag. She pondered. If Negan was so _well-known_ for his anger then surely he must have been warned about hers?   
Although she didn’t want to stay in this place anymore, she didn’t want to go along with the exchange either. She wanted to go of her own accord. Which meant, Negan would have to take her by force. Discarding her bag on the bed and picking up her gun and holster from under the bed and attaching it around her waist, her anger redirected towards a goal.  
~~~~~~  
Negan wasn’t too sure what he was expecting from his new wife; sometimes they cried, sometimes they said nothing – their silence either out of anger or out of fear - and sometimes they were excited. They were never straight up angry. Which made this beautiful woman, all the more attractive in the eyes of Negan, ruler of the Saviours.   
Standing with her arms folded across her chest, in the middle of her minimalistic lounge, she glared at Negan, Dwight, Arat and one of her townspeople. She had made it perfectly clear as soon as they’d walked over the threshold, that she wasn’t going to go with him. That she was not an object to be moved around as and when someone pleased. She was a person and very capable of making her own decisions.  
But _damn_ , was she _hot_.  
Negan licked his lips and grinned devilishly. “What’s your name doll?”  
“Y/N.” she snapped, fixing her glare onto him. Negan felt the fury in her gaze and realised that she wasn’t a force to be reckoned with. Just like him. Well hey, they had _something_ in common.  
Negan looked Y/N up and down cocking an eyebrow. He admired her y/b/t shape, how her clothes rested on her, how her y/c/h fell around her face, her y/c/e looked straight through him and how her gun rested so naturally on her hip. Negan was reminded of his wife, and his hand gripped Lucille a little tighter.  
“Dwight,” Negan said, quickly shooting a glance just off to the left of him. “If the lady wants to be left alone, we’ll leave her alone… But go ‘n get her stuff.”  
“Sure thing, Boss.” Dwight shrugged and began to walk towards the stairs.  
As soon as Dwight came within a close enough range, Y/N spun quickly and caught Dwight square on the jaw, sending him flying backwards and onto the floor.   
“Oh no-you-fucking-don’t Two-Face!” she yelled, standing above Dwight, forcing a leg down into Dwight’s chest – still taking care _not_ to crush his ribs. Despite her anger she couldn’t hurt a bystander, really. She was vibrating with anger, towards Negan, herself, and her people. Y/N wanted more than anything to put a bullet in someone, maybe Negan… maybe herself.  
“Doll, will you _please_ cool it?” Negan said, sounding more impatient than he intended.

This did not only re-ignite Y/N’s anger, it poured gasoline and threw a match to it. Angry tears stung at her eyes like acid, her chest hurt every time she drew or heaved a breath, her body shook. The feeling of betrayal, mixed with the crushing horrors of the new world, the crippling loneliness, the ever present feeling of sadness and worthlessness and emptiness and the humiliation of being a mere object of desire, became overwhelming.  
“Cool…it?” Y/N whispered gently, turning to Negan slowly. “ _Cool… **it?**_ ” She repeated, this time at a hiss. Arat tensed and on auto-pilot, her hand reached for her gun.  
Negan stood, unmoving, in front of his band of merry men (and women, respectively), waiting for her next move. A small smile tugged at his lips. His eyes gleamed. She was a shit-hot babe, even more so when angry. Negan watched as she flew into an uncontrolled rage, throwing her hands above her head, yelling at everyone and everything, sighing, shrugging, rolling her eyes. Every little movement she made, he noted and watched carefully. He was more affected by her cursing – very _effected_.  
“….and death by white hot fucking pliers piercing my eyes until they melted and the pliers pierced my frontal fucking lobe sounds a lot fucking nicer than being ‘married’ or whatever the fuck it is you do, to the post-apocalyptic equivalent of Danny Zuko!” Y/N finished, glaring at Negan.  
Negan stared at Y/N wide-eyed and then… laughed. He laughed loudly and more genuinely than ever before. God, this woman would be a piece of work. And God only knew how much he’d love it.  
After he’d finished laughing, he wiped away a tear from his eye and grinned at a slightly confused Y/N and said, “Doll, has anyone ever told you that you’re really , _really_ , fucking hot when you’re angry?”  
Blushing, despite her anger, Y/N snapped a hasty. “No.”  
Negan shook his head, “You’re going to be the death of me, doll. I can tell you that for nothin’.”  
Still confused and angry, Y/N asked quickly, “So, what? Even after all of that, after everything I just said – you’re still going to take me to the Sanctuary? No matter what?”  
Negan laughed again, this time more flirtatiously. “Oh-hoh doll, I ain’t gonna leave a sexy lil’ thing like you here – where your _own people_ betray you and let the Big Bad have you. Oh no, you’re gonna be my wife, and despite what you might think, you won’t be treated with even half of the treatment that you got here. You’ll be treated like a Goddamn queen. It’s the least I could do, for all of your troubles.”  
Y/N cocked an eyebrow. “Really?”  
“I swear on Lucille,” Negan said, swinging said bat up ono his shoulder. He extended an arm. “Now come one, whaddya say? Will you marry me?”  
With much hesitation, Y/N nervously took Negan’s extended arm without saying a word. They walked back on over to the trucks and began climbing in. Just before leaving, after all of her townsfolk had hung their head in shame as she’d walked passed, Y/N turned to Negan who was sitting next to her in the truck. Their driver, Dwight, was still helping to load the trucks.  
“I’m not sorry for what I said to you.” Y/N told him. “I may have went overboard – but I’m not sorry.”  
Negan laughed. “It’s okay doll. I really liked the Danny Zuko comment. That’s a new one.”  
Y/N smiled. “Huh. I thought it was obvious.”  
“Did you have a crush on him? Is it because my handsomeness is parallel to that of his?”  
“Not exactly. I never found him particularly attractive…” Negan’s face dropped. “However, you just dress a bit like him that’s all.”  
“So, I’m attractive?” Negan grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.  
Y/N rolled her eyes and sighed. “Maybe…Just fuckin’ maybe.”


	5. D is for Dodged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Y/N's ex boyfriend outs her crush on Daryl, the last thing she expects is a visit from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and sorry this took so gosh-darn long!  
>  I had such an awful bought of writer's block that this has been re-written so many times! This piece is also dedicated to my good friend Alisha, who loves herself a bit of Daryl, and proof reads these stories.  
> I'm planing on getting at least another 9 of these done before x-mas; and I'm praying I'll have no more writer's block.
> 
> Another quick note to add is that requests are still very much open and next chapter is Eugene (as requested by Madi - you're not forgotten lovely!) 
> 
> Enjoy!

_12:48 a.m._

The alarm clock’s light burned the time onto the backs of Y/N’s eyes, so that every time she closed them she reminded of how little sleep she was going to have. She wasn’t tired physically as usual, tonight she was emotionally and mentally drained. She sighed and turned onto her back, staring at the ceiling. Exhaling deeply, emptying her body of oxygen until she felt her stomach hollow against her ribs and the muscles tug. She took a deep, satisfying breath and closed her eyes and let the events of the last few months play through her mind’s eye like a movie.

 

About two months ago, before Rick’s group arrived in Alexandria, Y/N had begun a relationship with an Alexandrian called Jonathan. There wasn’t anything special about him. He was rather bland in her opinion. They’d idly chatted before, during work shifts and on break and he’d seemed nice enough. She needed an excuse to break up with him; and he’d provided one. It was around the second week of their courtship that he started to get pushy with Y/N, trying to coax her into sex; asking almost every other day if she was “ready” to and then “when” would they have sex. She broke up with him post-haste.   
It was after the break up that he’d changed for the worse. He began telling other Alexandrians that she was a slut, and that she was evil incarnate. No one _truly_ believed him, but no one stuck up for Y/N, either. He’d do little things to taunt her and annoy her; he’d nudge her, say horrid things about her when he knew she was near enough to hear; anything to make to her miserable. It’s safe to say, she pretty much hates the prick.  
On the day of Rick’s rag-tag group’s arrival, Y/N caught herself thinking about (and ogling at) Daryl; a member of Rick’s group. She couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was about him that made her want to (for lack of a better phrase) _jump his bones_ , she guessed it was perhaps his bad-boy-esque image that had gotten her brain all fizzled. Something psychological, that was logical to explain (at least, that’s what she told herself).   
As the days went by, Y/N tried her best to initiate conversation with the different members of the group; as they were outsiders and didn’t know about the wonderful Johnathan and she wanted to make some friends before he tried poisoning them against her. She’d always find herself back at Daryl, somehow. He’d never say much, and she was okay with that. She knew not to push anything (oh Lord, did she know not to), and he seemed happy enough with the situation. She’d give him some lunch if she’d seen he hadn’t eaten yet and make polite conversation, before heading off to complete one of her little jobs. She found it relaxing to be able to speak with someone somewhat freely without fearing judgement, and so it became a habit for her to meet him and occasionally sit and eat in a half silence filled by pointless and polite conversation. This habit had then happened to be her downfall.

Her attraction to Daryl began to grow without her noticing, and she only realised it on one of her days off. She _wanted_ to see him so badly, she surprised herself. Someone who had barely had a deep and meaningful conversation with her, made no effort to speak with her without her initiating, had somehow managed to make her want him all the more. She’d tried to stop herself that day, she really had, but she wanted to see him, and she needed a good excuse. Lunch wasn’t good enough; it was her day off and it wasn’t as if she was going anywhere. There were boxes of stuff that she needed to move from her garage for Deanna. That was an excuse. And a good way to get him to the house for a drink, and possibly more of a conversation. Possibly.

Her mind set and goal within reach, Y/N set out in search of Daryl to make her fantasy a reality. However, what she was met with almost crushed her soul. Johnathan was talking to Daryl. What was worse was that Johnathan spotted her and grinned like the conniving bastard he was. Swallowing her fear and holding her breath she carried on towards the two.  
“Annnnd speak of the devil!” Johnathan exclaimed, still grinning. “I was just telling Daryl about you, and your _minxy ways_.” His eyebrows waggled.  
Shaking her head, Y/N said as calmly as she could, “ What _minxy_ ways, John? You know better than anyone that I’m just a stick in the mud.”  
“Aw, no… I wouldn’t say _that_.” Johnathan gave another shit-eating grin that made Y/N’s skin crawl.  
Y/N turned her attention to Daryl. “Anyway, I came here to ask if you would be so kind as to help me move some boxes from my garage for Deanna. Yo-“  
“Isn’t it your day off?” Johnathan interrupted.  
Y/N sighed. “ Yes. It is.”  
“Then why are you asking him to do _your_ work on _your_ day off? So you can get another day off?”  
“N-N-“ Y/N began, breathing heavily.  
“Or,” Johnathan leaned closer. “ Is it because you have a little crush on Daryl here?”  
Taking a deep breath, Y/N mustered all of her courage. People were watching. Daryl wouldn’t look at her. Her life would never change.  
“ I – I would be lying if I said I didn’t find him attractive.” She began hesitantly. “And I would be lying if I said the boxes weren’t an excuse to speak to him – even though, I do need help with them.” She brought forth all of her pent up anger and spun on Johnathan. “And I would most _certainly_ be lying if I said I didn’t hate for all of this stress you’ve caused me all because I didn’t want to sleep with you!” She yelled as loudly as she possibly could, so that everyone could hear.   
Turning as her heel, tears of shame and humiliation flooding down her cheeks, Y/N stormed back to her house and slammed the door shut and locked it tight, not even looking back once. She remained unbothered the rest of the night. 

Unfortunately for Y/N, worrying and overthinking has a price; a price of little sleep. Waking up the next morning at her usual time with only five hours of sleep behind her had only left her more depressed than the night before. Pushing herself out of bed and sighing to herself quietly, Y/N dragged herself to her wardrobe and slowly began to change into fresh, clean clothes.  
Downstairs, after barely touching her breakfast and sipping gently at a black coffee in her favourite mug, Y/N mulled over what she should do about her current situation. Swirling the bitter, black liquid around mindlessly, she wondered if it was possible to start afresh somewhere else. Maybe somewhere that was like a sanctuary?... Pah, a ridiculous thought. Since when did good people survive this hell?  
She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not hear the soft knock at her door at first. It was barely audible, almost a stutter. The second was more confident, and it brought her out of her thoughts. Setting her coffee down on the island of her kitchen, Y/N got up and walked to her door, praying it wasn’t Deanna or Johnathan. Opening the door quietly and slowly to peek out, Y/N was surprised to see that it was Daryl who was standing there on her porch. He was holding a bunch of flowers…well, weeds; but the pretty kind. They were yellow, green and red, like traffic lights and some of them still had roots attached.   
Opening the door wider, Y/N just stared at Daryl; speechless.   
“These are for you.” Daryl said gruffly, not meeting Y/N’s eye. He thrust the flowers into her hands. “Rick said you’re usually up at this time.”  
“Y-Yeah.” Was the only reply Y/N could muster. She could feel the heat on her cheeks, as she suddenly remembered the importance of social politeness. “Would you like to.. uh, come in?”  
“Yeah…Thanks.”   
Y/N stepped aside to let Daryl through. He still wouldn’t meet her eye and she wouldn’t meet his.  
“Would you like a drink or um something to eat?” Y/N asked, scratching the back of her head trying to remember what exactly was in her cupboards. Remembering the flowers, she began to open cupboards for a vase.   
“Naw, I’m good…thanks.” Daryl stood awkwardly, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked as if he didn’t know what to do with himself. Y/N found a vase, finally, and ran cold water into it from the sink. It was very quiet. The sound of the water filling the vase was the only thing to hear; and then the clink of glass against marble when Y/N put the vase on the island.  
Y/N flushed and suddenly blurted; “I’m so sorry about yesterday. It – I got out of hand and I’m sorry and that was totally not the reason I wanted to see you – I mean for you to –“ She sighed. “Look,” She began again, putting her head in her hands. “ I’m just sorry, okay? It’s true I like you, you’ve treated me somewhat normal compared to everyone else and yes, okay, I’m attracted to you but… Me doing my job, and trusting you to help me complete it without fake smiles and somewhat bias comments would be very nice, but if you would’ve refused – I would have found someone else to help me or I would have done it on my own. Probably the latter.” She paused, and looked at Daryl, who was looking straight back at her listening to her every word. Blushing, she looked at her feet. “I try my best here, but it’s never enough but you made it feel okay-ish I guess. I got to be me again. So thanks… for making it bearable.” Y/N shrugged.  
“Don’t thank me.” He said, rolling his shoulders uncomfortably. “I barely spoke to you. Why would you even like me like _that_ anyway? I didn’t…” He trailed off, looking at his feet. “Well, anyway, that asshole Johnathan shouldn’t bother you anymore.”  
“What?” Y/N’s head shot up in disbelief. What on Earth could have stopped this harassment?!   
Simple. 

 

Daryl.

“How? What did you-“  
“I put him in his place. That’s all.” Daryl shrugged again. “Ain’t no one make a lady feel that way – the way you did.”  
“I-I… _Thank you_.” Y/N said with utmost sincerity. Tears began to form in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand and sniffed. The reign of Johnathan was now officially over thanks to Daryl, her knight in shining armour. Daryl’s cheeks had turned a bit rosy.  
“ _Don’t thank me_. He – he only got what he deserved.” Daryl rolled his shoulders again.  
Y/N, now the definition of happiness, threw her arms around Daryl (much to his surprise) and hugged him tightly repeating, “thank you” over and over again like a spell.  
“Hey! Get off me!” Daryl complained, yet didn’t make much effort other than a gentle push against her shoulders to remove her from him. His cheeks were a lot rosier than before.   
When Y/N finally removed herself, she was grinning up at Daryl; and he couldn’t help but give a small smile back.   
“Thank you,” She said, one last time.  
“Like I said, he got what he deserved.” Daryl shifted. “Anyways, I better go, Rick’s waitin’ on me to go scavengin’ with him.” Y/N walked Daryl to the door and watched him out onto the porch.  
“Hey, um, if you’re free later would you… would you like to help me with those boxes per chance?” Y/N couldn’t help but give an awkward smile and her awful attempt at flirting. Daryl turned to answer but was interrupted by Rick calling over to him.  
“Hey, did it go well? Did you ask her?”  
“NO!” Daryl yelled back, and with a flustered expression turned back to Y/N. “Yeah, sure. I’ll um… Yeah, later…”   
Walking towards Rick, who was grinning happily at him, Daryl looked back over his shoulder to see Y/N watching him leave and he felt a pang of disappointment for not telling her… he would tonight though, he promised he would. Once he was close enough to Rick, Daryl punched him hard in the shoulder.   
“Why did you say that?” He yelled. “She could’ve heard you!” Frowning angrily at his friend, mostly out of embarrassment.  
“What?” Rick asked innocently. “I was trying to help.”  
“Yeah, well, you didn’t! I’m telling her that I like her tonight, and I ain’t picking no more stupid flowers!” Daryl stormed off to the car that was loaded and ready for the trip.   
Rick grinned and looked over to Y/N, whom, upon hearing everything; sat on her porch shaking her head and smiling.


End file.
